Tackle things legally!

I was about to retire yesterday around midnight when the blip on my phone urged me to put the TV on. The burning matter of the day, the arrest of leaders by the CBI in West Bengal, had further developments.

The CBI court had granted bail to all the four accused, and I do not want to comment on the merits or demerits of the order. The leaders were still held in the Nizam palace and could not be produced before the court in person. The crowd swell in front of the CBI complex did not thin out despite the day was ending. An unlike CBI moved with alacrity and knocked the Calcutta High Court for a stay on bail.

While the Calcutta HC, Quorum: Rajesh Bindal, CJ(A) and Arijit Banerjee, J, cancelled the bail but with some scathing remarks. The court was critical on the dharna of the Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the CBI office, demanding the unconditional release of all the four accused and indulging in mobocracy.   The court also disapproved of State Law Minister Moloy Ghatak at the CBI office on strong terms.

The court stated Quote, “Public trust and confidence in the judicial system is more important, it being the last resort.  They may have a feeling that it is not a rule of law which prevails, but it is a mob which has an upper hand and especially in a case led by the Chief Minister and the Law Minister of the State in the court complex.” Unquote.

In my opinion, the four arrested were well known, three were associated with the government and public servants, and the fourth was a former mayor. There was no reason that they would jump bail and could have gone absconding. Thus, under the SC’s observations on needless arrests and denial of bails, the four ministers might have got bail, as I visualized before the CBI’s move in the High Court. The Dharna of the CM undid it. The unruly mobs thought they could rescue the leaders by force as the State Law minister was also present. These were fallacy and cost the leaders and the case dearly.

The CBI might insist that the case must be allowed to shift outside the State, perhaps the dreaded Bhubaneshwar, where many TMC leaders were already imprisoned earlier.

The Governor gave his approval when the CM did not constitute the ministry, and their swearing-in and oath of secrecy were not complete. A speaker to the Assembly was not elected either, and thus obtaining the speaker’s permission could not have been possible. The Governor’s power to allow the prosecution during this period is a grey area, which the SC must decide in the future. I feel that the Governor has acted lawfully.

The snippets: In the wee hours, the dispirited Madan Mitra and Sovan Chatterjee were admitted to the State-run SSKM hospital. There was an emotional drama outside the jail that would have given any Bengali serial a run for its money. Baisakhi Banerjee was banging the jail’s doors, profusely crying that she be allowed to meet Sovan. Surely, the law is heartless and blind.

Mamata must remember the doctrine, ‘Similia similibus curentur,’ Likes are cured by likes; not by dharna in front of courts or unruly actions of her party cadres.

Sampath Kumar

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